Eddie wondered if he was trying to anger the other dwarf for some reason.
“I'm not the only one that has a way with words. Your friend,” Jari spat, “Eddie here, told me that he didn't know who'd given him that scroll.”
“I told him a dwarf had given me that message, but that I hadn't asked the dwarf's name, in that conversation anyhow,” Eddie said. “Completely true.”
Jern start laughing, a full belly laugh that had his hand clutching at his stomach.
“Jari, is it true?” Jern asked when he'd caught his breath. “Did Eddie here beat you at your own game, you smooth talker you?”
Eddie thought he could hear Jari's teeth grinding as Jern mocked him.
“Anyhow,” Jern said. “I called challenge. I want full combat, no holds barred.”
Jari's face went white.
“You'd have me kill you, cousin?”
“No, but I don't want to kill you either, so we've got a spot for this. One blessed so you can fight to your utmost without slaying your opponent, although you still feel it so you may wish you'd been slain. Do you accept Jari? I have called challenge and dictated terms. Do you accept or reject?” Jern said.
With a last glare at Eddie, Jari pulled his gaze back to Jern.
“I want to see this area for myself first,” Jari said. “Let's see it in action and then I'll give you your answer.”
Jern led the group up to the inn, then around the side where the sparring ring was. It was currently in use, but Eddie found it easy enough to get the users to empty it by offering them a gold coin each to vacate it.
“And what is this?” Jari asked.
“It's a sparring ring,” Eddie said. “With appropriate covers for the weapons, no actual damage takes place, but an equivalent amount of subdual damage is taken instead. When you can't move any more that means you'd have been dead in a real fight.”
“Let's see it,” Jari snarled.
“Sure, I can demonstrate. Who would you like me to fight?” Eddie asked.
He stuck his hand out towards Jern, who caught his meaning and slid Eddie's agility ring back to him.
“The captain of our guard,” Jari said, a sly grin on his face.
Eddie quickly turned and Evaluated the dwarf that had been aggressive to him when they first met. Then he paled slightly.
Delv
Class:
Level: 25
Warrior (council guard - elite)
Hammer Dwarf
NPC
Specialization:
Hammers
You are currently unable to obtain more information about Delv with Evaluate.
“Holding a grudge, are we? I can't explain why else you'd want me to fight a level twenty-five. Well, I've never tried spells in the sparring ring, but it might be time to do so,” Eddie said. “Or maybe I should just bring my pet with me?”
Lucky, hearing Eddie refer to her, came trotting over and rubbed herself against his hip.
“I contest,” Brokkr said. “There is no need for that. I'll fight Eddie myself.”
Jari turned to look at Brokkr.
“You too, cousin? Why would you turn against me?”
“Because, you idiot, it's obvious Jern doesn't want to return and he believes he can beat you. If he stays, I'd like to have the measure of the man who's going to be fighting at his side when he goes to fight. Friend and party leader, didn't you catch that? Young Jern's been out and adventuring already if I don't miss my guess. I want to see what some of the rest of his group can do for myself. Besides that, as a smith of an Ambolt secondary branch, I outrank you. So my word is final.”
He turned to Eddie, who looked at him in a new light. The dwarf was layered with muscle. He had the stocky smith look to him and was built more solid than just about anyone else Eddie had seen in the game.
[group chat: Jern – You can take him, lad. Just don't let him hit you. He's stronger than any of those cows you had us round up and a mean hand with a hammer. Just keep dodging and you'll be fine, he's only got a couple of levels on you.]
Eddie heaved a sigh.
“Fine, I accept,” he said.
Jari looked annoyed, but apparently what Brokkr had said was true and Jari wasn't in charge here, he'd just acted that way until Brokkr asserted his authority.
Eddie slipped into the ring and put a cover on his sword, he tossed a hammer cover to Brokkr when the dwarf pulled out the two-handed war hammer he'd be fighting with and Brokkr put that on his own weapon.
“Got some more of these?” Brokkr asked.
Eddie pointed to a stack outside the ring and Brokkr took a moment to bend over it before standing and announcing his readiness.
They'd agreed that Jern would call the start of the match, so the two of them moved to opposing corners of the ring and waited while Jern counted down.
~ ~ ~
Chapter Nineteen
Cooper mashed the button on the panel in front of him. It was entirely unnecessary since the weapons were actually fired by his thinking of firing them, but when he'd seen what the viewpoint was when they'd started the new tests, he'd asked Venus if she could add this in.
Because I'll be damned if I don't lay it out like that mech-based game I used to play. It's close enough without the added panel that it would just feel wrong to do it any other way, he thought.
He watched as the line of bullets, shown as a straight line by his interface since the hail of lead was thick enough that it was accurate, impacted on the terrorist with the old AK-47 that had just popped up out of hiding.
[C-net: Campbell – Go Coop! You're batting a thousand this round.]
Venus had also altered some of the base code to read differently. The group chat messages were now shown under C-net or combat-net. There was some sort of artifact in the code that was giving them experience for the terrorist mobs that they were shooting down. Venus claimed she was working on it, but Coop wondered. He'd noticed that the experience was climbing after each reset, he'd also noticed the terrorist mobs showing signs of more intelligence each time as well. So he thought that, just maybe, it wasn't an artifact, and was instead the AI letting them know that the tests were getting harder with each reset without actually saying so out loud.
That theory, the one that the mobs were getting more difficult with reset, was borne out a moment later when a mob popped out from behind a building, Rocket Propelled Grenade in hand. The RPG fired, the back blast actually setting the corner of the building on fire. Olson started to dodge, but he was too slow, the RPG had been aimed at the center of his mech, but it took his right side as he tried to dodge to his left.
Construct, got to remember to call them constructs and think of them as constructs, Cooper thought.
The constructs looked a lot like mechs though, so that was hard for him. He was pretty happy with life for the moment. He'd just spent several months in a full immersion fantasy world and gotten paid for it, now he was testing out mechs and getting paid for it.
Constructs, damn it! Constructs, he thought.
From what he'd been told, the constructs in the real world were going to be nearly identical to the ones they were in. Metallic humanoid structures, ten or more feet tall, bristling with weapons. With no need for the operator to be inside the construct, the ammunition load outs were massive.
[C-net: Bob – I got Olson off the field, applying nanite paste to repair his construct now.]
Ferring had replied to the RPG with a missile of his own, destroying both the terrorist and the building he'd been trying to hide behind. Evidently Ferring had also made some requests of Venus, because when his missiles exploded, they did so as a massive fireworks display. Cooper shook his head.
You know, actually I think it only does that when he gets a successful hit, so maybe he just asked her to provide target elimination messages in a more visual fashion, one visible to the rest of us also? Cooper thought.
He wasn't going to ask though. Most of the group's bad habits had carried over from
Light Online to the virgin server. Ferring was still a tad cracked, although he'd been the first one to sync with his construct correctly. Campbell still had a tendency to try to tank, so he'd been given the construct with the most armor, and Olson was still unwilling to actually put effort into what he was doing.
Cooper had no complaints about Bob, whatsoever. The medic took to the repair construct with aplomb. Amusingly enough, he'd started tinkering with things, things probably better left alone, or at least not experimented with and one of Venus' first notes was to lock down the materials in the repair bot so they couldn't be played with. As she'd put it:
'The nanite mixture Bob created could have destroyed an entire city block before anyone could do anything about it. So, let's not let the medics play with their materials, shall we?'
Campbell went racing forward. His heavily armored suit also had the equivalent of hand to hand weapons on it, so when he darted around a corner with the arm of his suit formed into a sword, Cooper was not surprised when he came back with it dripping red a moment later.
[C-net: Campbell – I think that's the last of them for this round.]
Cooper knew better, he'd been counting, and there was still one to go. When he saw the small missile hurled at Campbell's construct, he knew just where that one was also.
[C-net: Cooper – Campbell, move fast. You're targeted.]
Campbell didn't move fast enough. The grenade went off, mangling the left leg of his construct as he launched himself off of it. With the supporting leg going out in the middle of his movement, Campbell ended up sprawled on the ground.
Meanwhile, Cooper had traced the trajectory of the grenade back with some of the built-in capabilities of his own construct and now poured a stream of lead into the projected target point. A moment later he was notified that this set of terrorists were negated and that the scenario would reset in four hours.
~ ~ ~
“Three...Two...One... Fight!” Jern called out.
Eddie tensed, unsure as to Brokkr's abilities. He'd thought of rushing the dwarf, trying to get to him while his two-handed war hammer still rested on the ground and was incredibly glad he hadn't when the war hammer stayed where it was, but a smaller one was drawn from nowhere and hurled towards him at an incredibly fast rate.
Eddie dodged to one side, only moving about two feet, which was enough for the hammer to go flying past and out of the ring. He started to move towards Brokkr only to find himself dodging again as a second hammer flew at him.
Then the dwarf lifted his two-handed hammer and Eddie saw Brokkr's muscles flex from the weight of it.
Note to self, Eddie thought, even if it's got a safety cover, that hammer will hurt like nobody's business if it hits me. Dodge whenever possible.
Eddie rushed the dwarf, sword in hand. He tried to move in to strike, but Brokkr had the reach on him with his hammer, even if his arms were shorter. Eddie found himself momentarily wishing he'd chosen a longer main weapon.
He stepped back as the dwarf tried to strike him with the hammer, then tried to dash in to score a hit, but Brokkr handled the hammer as if it were a toy, reversing its momentum almost instantaneously and causing Eddie to dodge again.
A grin broke out on Brokkr's face as he strode deeper into the ring. A matching grin came to Eddie's as the dwarf's new positioning allowed him to proceed with his plan.
He charged the dwarf dead-on and when the hammer came flying forward to block him, Eddie slammed his feet to the floor of the ring, bending his knees, then launching himself up and forward.
Brokkr was taken off guard as Eddie went over him. Eddie finished the flip, not daring to try to add in the half twist that would have had him facing the dwarf's back when he landed. Instead he struck with his sword as he spun to face the dwarf, catching him solidly in the side as the dwarf was spinning as well.
Brokkr's spin included his hammer, so Eddie couldn't take more than the one shot he'd managed. He hopped, pulling his legs up as he did and allowing the hammer to fly beneath him. When it struck the ropes of the ring, Eddie noticed that there was a little bit of spring there that sent the hammer back towards him again.
He hopped to allow the hammer under him again, but at the same time brought his sword down in what would normally be a sweeping block. He had no hope of actually blocking the hammer, but that wasn't his target. His sword impacted Brokkr's arm and the dwarf swore at the impact.
Brokkr backed up several paces now and stared at Eddie.
“Two hits to my none? Perhaps you are worthy to group with the Heir of Ambolt.”
Eddie could hear the capitals and wondered what the fuss was. Sure, being the heir to a wealthy family was important and he could see them worrying about the heir's health, but surely this was overdone.
Brokkr rushed forward again, and this time when Eddie tried to go up and over him, the dwarf altered the swing of his hammer, catching Eddie's shin and sending him spinning. His acrobatics skill allowed him to regain control of his leap, but his shin was throbbing now.
He flicked the notification light that had started flashing and distracting him. Giving it only the briefest of glances.
You have upgraded the skill Acrobatics to (7). So, you'll be one of those silly bravos? Leaping all over and inflicting the death of a thousand cuts? Better than using magic I suppose.
Eddie stuck the landing, spinning to find Brokkr rushing at him. The dwarf, anticipating that Eddie would try to leap over him again, leapt into the air, hammer smashing overhead in a sweeping arc that would end right where Eddie's head currently was, if he didn't move.
Eddie threw himself down towards the floor, spinning so he'd slide on his back. His sword came up and Eddie winced as he scored a solid hit on Brokkr's groin. He was very glad to hear the clang of armor there, because this blow would've put his kick to Olaf's groin to shame with the force of it otherwise.
Brokkr was pale and shaking his head as he spun to face Eddie, who had just gotten back into a standing position.
“Aye, lad, your three to my one, but that last blow? Magnificent! Unfortunately, now I've got to put you down,” Brokkr said.
With that warning, Eddie decided to go on the defense for a bit. He knew he didn't have a prayer of blocking the hammer, so it was going to be mostly dodging. Although if he saw an opening, he would try to take it.
Eddie used his acrobatics, the springiness of the ropes, and everything he could to stay away from Brokkr's hammer, not getting any other strikes in for a couple of minutes. For the first time he was happy that he had what he considered an outrageous amount of stamina and finally understood why. He was down below half on his stamina and Brokkr was still going strong. Eddie's shin was slowing him down, aching and throbbing. Not for the first time he wished that the training ring dulled more of the pain than it actually did.
He slipped up then, favoring his shin left him a touch slow and he took the head of the war hammer to his chest. Eddie went flying back and slammed into the ropes, slumping to the ground. It took him a moment or two to regain his wits and when he did, he saw Brokkr charging in, war hammer coming around in a sweeping arc that was sure to finish the fight.
He waited for the dwarf to close, then threw himself to one side, bringing his sword across both of the dwarf's shins, hoping to even the odds, and maybe thinking of a little of payback for Eddie's own aching shin.
Brokkr stumbled from the strike, slamming into the ropes himself and slumping to the ground. The dwarf groaned for a moment as he stood, then broke into a smile.
“Let's call it a draw, shall we? I now see why Jern said you might wish to be slain instead of feeling this pain. Shall we call it draw?” Brokkr asked.
Eddie nodded, happy enough to quit before he was experiencing any more pain. The dwarf thrust his arm out towards Eddie and when he grasped Brokkr's hand, Eddie found out just how strong the dwarf was.
Despite being shorter than him, Brokkr used the contact between them to lift Eddie up and allow him to get his feet under
him.
Damn! He pretty much just curled me with a single arm. I wonder what his strength stat is? Eddie thought.
“Alright cousins, I've verified Jern's words and while the pain is intense, there's no true damage to it,” Brokkr said. “So now Jari, it's your turn.”
~ ~ ~
When Jern came over to congratulate Eddie for fighting Brokkr to a standstill, Eddie took that moment to slip the agility ring back to the dwarf. When he was done with his congratulations Jern slipped into the ring, grinning. He stared at Jari.
“Well, what are you waiting for cousin? I admit, my mood is much better than the last time I had to fight you. After all, when I wanted to leave the Hold and you defeated me to keep me there, officially at least, you had more than ten levels on me. I think this will be a much more interesting match, don't you?”
Jern had his own armor, shield, and hammer equipped, but Eddie was confused by the small bag Jern held in his hand along with the shield grip. A glance at Jari showed Eddie that the obnoxious dwarf was looking uncertain.
“Aye, I remember how you beat me down, humiliated me then. Matter of fact, the glee you took in beating me down back then was what solidified my desire to leave the Hold. I didn't want to be around others like you if I could avoid it,” Jern said. “So come on now, you accepted my challenge, you know the ring will keep you alive, what are you waiting for?”
Jari slowly stepped into the ring and this time Eddie counted down for them. As he called out “fight” he found out just why Jern had that bag in hand. As soon as Eddie announced the start of the fight, Jari shimmered and disappeared, slipping into stealth.
He must have an insane level in it being able to disappear while we're all watching him, Eddie thought.
Then Jern took several quick steps into the middle of the ring and began to spin in a circle. Eddie was confused as all hell, until Jern let loose part of the sack and a white powder started flying out in the circle, covering the ring.
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